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Photo: Manu Fernandez/AP
After racist remarks against Vinícius Júnior from Spanish soccer record champions Real Madrid, Brazilian soccer stars like Pelé and Neymar have raised their voices.
With this, the sports greats from Brazil reacted to the comments of a Spanish advisor, who had asked Vinícius on the TV program "Chiringuito Show" to stop behaving "like a monkey" and no longer celebrate goals with dance movements.
"While racism unfortunately still exists, we won't let it stop us from smiling.
And we will continue to fight racism in this way every day.
For our right to be happy and respected," Pele wrote on Instagram: "Football is joy.
It's a dance."
Pedro Bravo, the chairman of the Spanish Football Agents' Association (AEAF), apologized for his words on Twitter.
He "used the term in a metaphorical way to mean 'fool around'".
The comments struck a chord in Brazil, where fans often yell racist taunts at players.
Real Madrid want to take legal action
Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar tweeted "BAILA VINI JR" - Portuguese for "dance".
Meanwhile, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBC) issued a statement expressing its "solidarity" with the player and condemning the "racist remarks".
Real Madrid said they rejected "all forms of racist and xenophobic remarks" and would "take legal action".
Vinícius Júnior published a video on his social media channels announcing that he would not stop dancing and that he would fight the racism that had often affected him.
The 22-year-old Vinícius Júnior switched from Flamengo Rio de Janeiro to Real Madrid in the summer of 2018.
In the 2022 Champions League final against Liverpool FC, the Brazilian international scored the goal to win 1-0.
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